January26, 2017

WASHINGTON—Representative Eliot L. Engel, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, today made the following statement:

“Constructing a wall along our 2,000-mile border with Mexico while claiming that the Mexican government will pay for it puts our own security at risk by alienating the very officials with whom we must collaborate. I am very disappointed that it has now led to the cancellation of President Enrique Peña Nieto’s visit to Washington next week.

“The relationship between the United States and Mexico is extremely important to all Americans on a daily basis. When President Obama left office last week, he left behind a relationship with Mexico that was stronger than ever. Presidents George W. Bush and Felipe Calderón rolled out the Merida Initiative in 2007 which enabled a new level of security cooperation between our countries. Under the leadership of Presidents Obama and Peña Nieto, that cooperation reached new heights. The January 19th extradition of drug kingpin Chapo Guzmán to New York was a major victory for the Obama and Peña Nieto Administrations that never would have been possible without a robust U.S.-Mexico partnership.

“I urge President Trump to reconsider his recent actions so that the U.S.-Mexico relationship can get back on track.”